REVIEW – ROMAN (Cold Fury #7) by Sawyer Bennett

New York Times bestselling author Sawyer Bennett steams up the ice all over again as the Carolina Cold Fury hockey team’s hottest bad boy gets his first taste of something good.

In a league full of troublemakers, Cold Fury defenseman Roman Sýkora stands out—at least when it comes to negative publicity. When he’s not chilling in the penalty box, the sizzling Czech skate demon is racking up tabloid headlines for his scandalous behavior with the ladies. But now Roman’s feeling the burn from management to clean up his act, or else. Luckily he’s got an enticing distraction: a fun-loving barista who plays the ukulele and brings out a side of Roman he didn’t know he had.

Lexi Robertson came to Raleigh, North Carolina, to finally meet her father, Brian Brannon, and her half sister, Gray, both of whom work in the Cold Fury’s front office. That’s where she first meets sexy, intimidating Roman—who’s really a big softie at heart. As one relationship takes off, another begins: Brian seems to be clicking with Lexi’s boss at the coffee shop. But when the friction between Roman and her new family heats up, Lexi wonders whether she’s a pawn in their game. Feeling hurt and foolish, Lexi’s ready to quit while she’s ahead. Trouble is, Roman’s not ready to quit on her.

ROMAN is book seven in the Cold Fury series and I’d dare to say that it became one of my favorites! It has a sexy as hell, bad boy NHL player and an eccentric Heroine who you can’t help but root for to find her HEA. Not only do we get two new main characters, but we have a couple of secondary characters whose budding romance almost outshines the storyline of the Hero and Heroine!! I was delightfully surprised by just how much I enjoyed this story!! It reminded me that this is one of Sawyer Bennet’s best series and that I need to catch up on some of the books I have missed so far!

Roman Sykora is the Cold Fury’s bad ass hockey player who racks up almost as many penalties on the ice as he does women on his downtime. He’s been benched for misconduct more than any of his teammates and his drinking and bedding of a plethora of women has landed him on the pages of many gossip magazines. He’s in hot water with the general manager, Gray Brannon, who is married to his teammate, Ryker. While waiting to be called into Gray’s office he meets a beautiful young woman in the reception area. They strike up an easy conversation and even get a bit flirtatious with each other as well. Lexi Robertson is new in town and has a scheduled meeting with the CEO of the Cold Fury for a very personal matter.

Lexi’s mother passed away almost a year ago and before she died, she revealed to Lexi the identity of her father. Growing up, it was just Lexi and her mom, and they had a really close bond. Her mother had a brief relationship with Brian Brannon but they only lasted a few months as Brian’s wife had passed away not too long before they started dating and he didn’t feel at the time that he was ready to move on with someone new. Lexi’s mother found out a month after their break-up that she was pregnant and she never made Brian aware. Now it’s almost a year after Lexi’s mom has passed, and she is seeking out her father and half-sister, Gray, in hopes to form a relationship with them so that she is no longer alone in the world. When she meets with Brian, he is naturally shocked at first but something about Lexi calls to him. He feels deep inside that she is indeed his daughter and this man is just incredible. He never for a second thought Lexi was an opportunist, looking to get her hands into his bank account. He happens to be quite perceptive because Lexi is a very independent woman who prides herself on being able to support herself without any assistance. She works at a local coffee shop and a couple of nights a week she also sings there as well for extra cash. While Brian is more trusting, Gray turns out to be the skeptical one and is slow to warm up to Lexi.

While the family drama unfolds, Lexi and Roman do end up running into each other a couple of times and the attraction between them is undeniable. Roman is beyond intrigued by Lexi because she makes him work for her attention. This is something he’s not used to. He’s never been the least bit tempted to have a committed relationship with a woman until he starts spending time with Lexi and she has him longing for love and companionship. He barely has a relationship with his parents being that they were both workaholics and he was shipped off to Hockey camp at the tender age of thirteen. He’s never really formed close lasting relationships with anyone. These new feelings scare him but no matter how hard he tries he can’t seem to stay away from Lexi.

Lexi and Roman aren’t the only ones starting a hot new romance, Brian ends up meeting Lexi’s feisty and stunning boss, Georgia Mack. Georgia is a forty-seven-year-old single woman who knocks the sixty-one-year-old Brian on his ass. I found myself getting excited every time we got to their chapters in the book. Georgia is a spit fire and has absolutely no filter. Brian is described as a silver fox with a bit of a stuffy demeanor but once Georgia gets her hands on him, she easily melts his cool exterior!

There is definitely plenty of angst and a healthy dose of steam all around to keep a reader highly entertained with this one!! ROMAN releases on February 21st! Make sure you one-click!